Sunday, September 18, 2016

I've written a few posts.
I just haven't published them.
They seemed dull and whiny.
I need to tweak them up a bit.

I actually have a lot to write about but
just can't seem to get it together.

I've been thinking about A LOT of things.
About the future,
about maybe moving someday.
Just lots of things but I won't go into that now.

Rather, I'm going to talk about my ART.
Things I've been working on.
Mistakes that I believe I have made
and some changes I'm going to make
and just Follow my heart.

So, let's start with my photography prints.
That's kinda backfired on me.
I'm selling them at the Art and Antiques place downtown.

Well, they are for sale

But none have sold.
Seriously.
Zero.
The last two months I had to PAY for my space and made ZERO cash.
Yep.
In the hole.
Materials and time spent have not been recouped.

But...
At my work place, the vet clinic, I've sold a couple
but mostly I've sold commissioned ones of people's pets.
I don't mind it too much at first.

I would take the photos
and alter them and everyone was happy.
But then people have wanted to supply me with THEIR photos....

It's not MY photography, and I felt like a glorified photo editing person who mounts prints on canvas.
Bleh.

While I do need the dollars, I have come to realize that -
I DON"T WANT TO DO THIS!
This very afternoon, I should be working on such a project and I'm dragging my feet.
Add to the fact that I'm charging such a small amount....
Yep, I'm kinda done with it.

But my illustrations...
I need to get back to THOSE.
I want to experiment more with layered papers and things.
AND I bought a book about doing watercolor!
I'm not sure how to do it but I like the look of it so much.
Right now I do everything in Inktense pencils
or else in acrylic paint.
I'm self-taught but I really like this how-to book.
So I'm excited about figuring out watercolors!

Then there's the Art & Antique place where I have my altered photography and also my illustrations.
My sister and I meet for breakfast once a month and after breakfast last weekend
she went with me to set up my new Halloween display.
I had made several prints of my illustrations and also of some vintage Halloween photos.

I was pretty happy with my display and as I was paying up front for my last months rent
my sister milled around the place.
I joined her after I was done and we walked around looking.
My sister is very honest and would never say something just to be polite
but as she looked at the antiques and then the various Halloween displays,
she turned to me and said -
"I don't think your Art fits in this place".
She waved her hand at a display with plastic dolls and their handmade clothes that were for sale.
Then she nodded over at a booth full of antique knicky knacks.
Then she walked over to a display of various Halloween items and said -
"And obviously these things were purchased from a store and then just retagged and put in the booth space"
and she shook her head and said she had not seen one thing she would want to buy.

I told her I was rethinking it all.
Then I told her I hadn't had any sales for 2 months.
I gathered up a few of my altered prints to take back to the clinic but I gave her two of them.
They were of her own cats.
She smiled.

Later that night, I was on Facebook and I noticed that the Art and Antiques place
had posted on their page a video montage of all the Halloween displays.
I watched the video and then I text my sister with a link to it and asked for her "opinion" of the video.
She watched it and then text back -"So she's included everyone's Halloween items but yours?!You need to pull your stuff!?"
I told her I intended too.

The next morning I gave my notice, unfortunately it's a 60 day notice per my "contract'
but at least I'll be done by the end of November.

Then I called the place where I used to have my big booth
and sold a lot of my items that I had here at home.
I had given that up when I felt like I didn't have the time for it
and also when I got rid of my van.
A couple of weeks ago I had been thinking about that place
and I just randomly called and had them put my name on their waiting list.

So I called them and clarified to the exact size space that I wanted.
I didn't want the BIG 8" x 8' space that I had before but rather the 4' x 8' space.
I asked if there were a million people ahead of me and he laughed and said -
"Not a million but a few"
(Last time I had to wait a whole year to get in but hopefully it won't be the same again.)

So that's the other mistake I made.
Letting my space go at the big Antiques and Collectibles place.

So I text my sister that night.
Usually when I tell her a current idea, she will answer back with a single word.
Like - "OK" or "Good" or "Uh Huh"
I suppose it's exhausting to know me,
what with all my ideas.
But that night I text her and said - that I had put my name on the list at the old place and she said that she thought it was a great idea.
I told her I should have stayed with that place even if I couldn't move big things with my car.
I said I had been thinking about things I could make besides also selling things I still had in my house.

I wanted to paint Folk Art signs too,

and weather them outside.
I wanted to make weird primitive dolls like I used to make for her girls
and just really folk arty stuff like things I want to make for my own yard.
I wish I had photos of the old stuff but here are a couple cat dolls I used to make. They aren't the same as the dolls but they were also made out of cloth and painted. -

I have ideas like making peace poles
and eclectic painted fence pickets
and I said to her that I wanted to make the booth space like a "scene" or a window display.
Kinda magical and things for the seasons.
I wanted to make one of a kind things so people would feel like they must buy it before its gone.
I also would paint some furniture but just little pieces.

I also want to make some papier-mâché things.
I've done papier-mâché items years ago and they didn't look like papier-mâché.
I wish I had photos but one looked like a ship's figurehead.
It was the head of a mermaid that was made to look like it had been under water for a very long time.
She had her eyes closed and her mouth was open and it was very eerie.
I entered it in a Halloween Art competition downtown that was sponsored by Midcoast Arts
and I won a prize!

I also made a 3 foot old mermaid and then her nose was accidentally broken off in a "cat versus space on the table top" incident and I still sold her for $80 and that was more that was 20 years ago.

Another time I made a life-size snowman shaped like a cat.
It had a tree branch going through it for arms and I made a papier-mâché bird to perch on it.
It was very detailed with a scarf and mittens and a big crafted carrot nose.
My friend had it displayed in her restaurant window for the Winter season.
Lots of people commented on it.

Yep, I feel like creating just very folk art stuff and selling that and different things I've collected and some signs that I will paint.
And illustrations. So that I can sell them as prints, cards and things.
I told that to my sister and
she thought it sounded like a good idea and it would be cool stuff for me to make.

Monday, September 5, 2016

And today is Labor Day!Such a beautiful day! Great weather. I'm actually off work today!I'm working on digging holes and sinking fence posts into the ground for the fence I'm crafting.My "Folk Art" fence.It's so peaceful.Dogs snoozing on the chaise lounges on the patio.The soft whiz of cars going done the street.Birds chirping.The neighborhood kids playing on their trampoline and the sounds of them jumping and chattering with one another.Calling out to each other.Neighborhood sounds.Kids being kids andsuddenly I remember something my Dad yelled out to us kids so many years ago andNOW I understand what he meant."Stop that! You sound like lunatics!"Ahhhh, memories.